Believe It Or Not, These 18 Travelling Myths Oftenly Mislead (Soon-to-Be) Travelers! How About You?

“Why travelling aboard? There are still plenty cool places here in Indonesia!”
“You keep on travelling. As if you have lots of money!”
“Hey, if you wanna book for the cheapest hotel, better do it through *cencored* sites!”
“Solo backpacker? It’s dangerous! Especially if you’re a woman!”

Either you realize it or not, such kind of sentences are a few of so many travelling myths that oftenly mislead soon-to-be travelers. Some of them are even strongly spreaded out, that some soon-to-be travelers became too afraid to go out. Have you ever been in such situation?

Actually, hellooo, not all of those myths were true. Some myths are just halfly true, but there are lots of them which are purely just myths. Well, to avoid getting misled by those myths, let’s check out some myths commonly spread amongst soon-to-be travelers. As bonus, also check out the explanations on each myth, and decide it for yourself whether those myths are true or false.

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1. Myth: “To Get A Cheap Plane Ticket, You Need to Book It Long Before the D-Day.”

Illustration of booking plane ticket, via travelandscape

Fact: This myth is one of the most common myth amongst soon-to-be travelers. But actually, that is not entirely true. Indeed, there are some airlines that give out promotional prices with some terms and conditions. One of those is, the departure time (usually) is quite long from the ticketing booking period.

But, for non-promotional tickets, there are times when it is almost the D-Day, the price would instead get cheaper than the prices on other regular days. Not to mention that for now, there are numerous airlines available so the ticket prices might be competitive. Just take advantage from various sites to compare the prices offered by various airlines, and you can find the cheap ticket anytime.

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2. Myth: “Buy the plane ticket on Tuesday, the price would be cheaper than any other days.”

It is said that, ticket prices will get cheaper on Tuesday. Is it true?, via lifehacker

Fact: The myths are sometimes sung through various travelling sites from aboard, and sometimes it gets blatantly adapted by local travelers. Truthfully, it doesn’t always like that in Indonesia. The conclusion is, it is just a myth.

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3. Myth: “Jetlag happens due to lack of sleep during the trip.”

Ilustration of jetlag, via haberfem

Fact: Jetlag has nothing to do with sleep duration. Truth is, jetlag happens because we travel through different time zones. That will mess up our biological clock. To minimalize it, you can keep your body to stay fit before and during the trip by consuming nutritious foods, vitamins, and get enough rest.

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4. Myth: “Travelling is expensive and is only for those who have lots of money!”

Illustration of traveling, via eothon

Fact: Traveling is not monopolized by those with unlimited budget. For those with the budget thin as a paper, you can still do some travellings. The key is, be smart in choosing option that fits the most for your capability, and be realistic.

Can’t afford staying in a 5-star hotel? You can stay on other accomodation which is more affordable, such as hostel, guesthouse, or even do a couchsurfing. You can also choose the most economical transportation ticket. And, there are still many other things you can do to press the budget. The point is, where there is a will, there is a way. Traveling is expensive? Totally a myth!

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5. Myth: “Traveling is only suitable for those who have time. I am busy, no time for travelling!”

Illustration of traveling, via omskvech

Fact: This opinion is not entirely wrong, but it’s not entirely right either. It is true that travelling will cost time and might ruin your daily routinity. But hey, travelling can be a great way to get out of your routinity.

Once in a while, get out of that comfort zone to recharge your spirit, finally it can make you feel fresh when you get back to your work routinity. If it is difficult for you to find the perfect time to do it, you can solve it managing your time better.

Change your mindset “vacation if i have spare time” to be “managing time for work or school to be able to get a vacation”. Then you will realize that you actually have time for vacation even if it is just for a short time.

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6. Myth: “Why bother travelling? Such a waste of money!”

Travelling is a waste of money?, via travelmag

Fact: Well, it is true that travelling requires not a small amount of money. But, that doesn’t neccesarily mean that travelling is purely just a waste of money. Considering from the experience, travelling will give you a new experience that can’t be measured with money. And, even if you are on vacation, you can still make money.

For example, you can make a review about your trip and sell it. You can also do it by selling traveling photographs to someone or a company who needs it (as long as your photograph quality matches their terms). And there are still many other things you can do to change your travelling agenda to be something that may produce money.

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7. Myth: “Solo traveling is dangerous. Especially if you are a girl!”

Solo traveling, via wanderlusttips

Fact: There are a lot of people who think it is dangerous to go alone, especially for female solo traveler. But actually, everything depends on your own preparation. As long as you did you research thoroughly regarding the places you plan to visit, you can minimalize the risk of negative things that might happen during your travel.

Don’t forget to supply yourself with various tips to increase the security of female travelers, and always use common sense anywhere you are. Trust me, solo travelling is so much fun!

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8. Myth: “Now when you are still single, satisfy yourself by travelling as much as you can. Once you have kids, things will be complicated!”

Travelling with family, via ufamama

Fact: Well, that myth is one of the myths that are not entirely wrong, but not entirely right either. The fact is, when you are still single, it is true that you can go anywhere carelessly, either it is solo or with friends. You can also press your budget as low as possible.

Even so, that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with your family while travelling. The solution is, you need to compromise with a few things. For example, after you have kids, you need to choose a travelling destination that is kids-friendly.

Budget factor will surely get higher than travelling solo. But, if you consider the experience and togetherness that you will get with your lovely family during travelling, compromising became one of the thing that makes sense, doesn’t it?

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9. Myth: “English is acceptable all around the world.”

Engrish, via keepitonfleek

Fact: English is accepted as the international language. But do you know, english is just approximately used by a quarter of countries around the world? In another word, the amount of countries that do not use English is far more than the countires that does. So don’t get surprised when you are travelling to country that is not an English user, you might be experiencing a little bit of problem when trying to communicate with the locals.

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10. Myth: “Because not every country understands English, you need to learn the local language of the country first before travelling there.”

Illustration of tourist from Asia while travelling to Paris, via madplanet

Fact: According to point 9, English is indeed not used in every country. But if you must learn Chinese before going to China, learn Japanese before going to Japan, and learn Korean before going to Korea, then you will run out of time for learning and end up not travelling at all.

The solution is, sure it is better if you learn some survival phrases and sentences before going to an unfamiliar country. But if you don’t have time for it, it’s okay. You can always use your body language and facial expression to ask the locals. Just take this language problem as a challenge, and everything is gonna be alright.

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11. Myth: “Travelling with strangers is a big NO! It’s dangerous!”

Illustration of travelling with a companion, via medium

Fact: Some travelers have a hobby of looking for a travelling companian for sharing their travelling cost. But some others think that it is dangerous to travel with people you don’t know. It’ll be worse if you share a hotel room.

Well, that opinion might be correct, but it is not 100% correct. Apart from the risk factor, travelling with new people actually has many positive side and other fun things. For example, you might have a chance to add a new friend who loves travelling as much as you do.

You can also train your sense of tolerance and compromise with new people. And, who knows, you might get some infos regarding tourism places you never visit before from that new friend. So, it is up to you, do you wanna be afraid, or do you wanna consider travelling with new people as a challenge?

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12. Myth: “Why staying in a hostel? Hostels are just for backpackers or students!”

Plas Curig Hostels Snowdonia, via independenthostels

Fact: Long time ago, hostel was indeed identical as accomodation for backpackers or travelers. But lately, as types of accomodation get more varied, there are many hostels that are now making up theirselves. They are offering facilities that are comparable with a hotel, but with rates that are (generally) more affordable.

There are also hostels that offer private rooms for travelers who are not comfortable staying in a dormitory. So, there is nothing wrong with considering to stay in a hostel, even if you are not backpackers.

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13. Myth: “Don’t dare to join couchsurfing. It is so dangerous to stay at a stranger’s house.”

Couchsurfing, via webrazzi

Fact: Have you ever heard about couchsurfing? Couchsurfing is an activity of staying at a stranger’s house while we are in the middle of somewhere. Of course, it is not any random strangers, instead it’s just one of some particular people who acts as a host and is offering his house for strangers to stay.

The question is, is couchsurfing dangerous or not? As we are staying in a house of someone we just met!

If i got asked like that, than the answer could be dangerous and could be not. There is always a risk for dangers indeed if we stay at a totally strange place. But, there are some tricks to minimalize it. For example, you can learn a host’s credibility before deciding to stay at his house.

You can also check out the testimonies given by other travelers. And, for female traveler, you can choose a female host. It also applies if you travel with family, you can choose a host who is having a family too. As long as you are not lazy to research the host who is gonna accomodate you during couchsurfing, the risk of danger might be minimalized.

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14. Myth: “Travelling guide books are not always accurate. The best is to directly ask the locals!”

Tourist and travelling guide book, via travelpirates

Fact: As a matter of fact, it is difficult for a travelling guide book to 100% gives out travelling recommendations. It is because tourism is a dinamic thing, while a travelling guide book is clearly static.

But that doesn’t mean the locals 100% know the best tourism object of a place. Especially if you are travelling to a big city where most people are individualistic. So, the best method is to combine between the guides on travelling books, sources on the internet, and asking the locals.

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15. Myth: “Anyone holds an Indonesian passport will be difficult to travel around the world.”

Map of power of Indonesian passport, via Charlies280590/wikipedia

Fact: As a matter of fact, according to the ranks at passportindex.org, the power of Indonesian passport is “only” at the 71st rank (or 79th according to Wikipedia). That means the flexibility of Indonesian passport is still lower than other countries like Germany, Dutch, and USA.

But, at least there are still 58 countries that allow Indonesian passport holders to step inside without a visa, or at least allowing visa on arrival. Hopefully in the future, Indonesian passport could be more flexible!

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16. Myth: “The most strategic time to press the travelling budget is by travelling during low season.”

Illustration of travelling during shoulder season, via weibo

Fact: You must have heard that myth for plenty of time, haven’t you? It is said that if we travel during low season, we will get cheaper prices. Automatically, travelling budget can also be pressed down compared with travelling during peak season.

But, many experienced travelers would suggest shoulder season as the best time for travelling. Shoulder season is a holiday period between peak season and low season. On shoulder season, the crowd on tourism object would have decreased, but the weather is still friendlier than during the low season.

Prices are already not as high as it was during the peak season. Though it is true that low season might have more economical prices than shoulder season. But travelling is not always talking about budget, right? What’s the point of getting cheap prices if you just end up staying put in a hotel room as the weather is not friendly? Don’t you agree?

17. Myth: “To get the best price, better make your hotel reservation through a booking site.”

Illustration of booking, via nawakacjach

Fact: We can say this myth is not entirely true. Well it is, for some cases, you will get plenty of interesting price offers if you make a reservation through hotel booking sites.

But, there are times when the hotels are offering a bundling package with a very friendly rate. A wise traveler would not be lazy to compare the offers from hotel booking sites and the hotel itself directly to get the best price.

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18. Myth: “When travelling, don’t buy any street food. You could get sick! Better to eat in a restaurant instead!”

Street culinary in South Korea, via weheartit

Fact: Another travelling myth that is not 100% true. It is true indeed that street foods tend to be less hygienic, and restaurant food would seem to be much more hygienic. But, hey, don’t the locals also eat those foods?

Anyway, travelling agenda would not feel legit before trying the street culinaries. Also, you can’t even be sure if the restaurant food is 100% cleaner, because you can’t see the preparatory process before the food is served to you. Don’t you agree with me?

So, don’t hesitate to taste the street foods, okay? Just one thing, to minimalize the risk of getting sick that could ruin your travelling plan, you must pay attention to the cleanliness of the culinaries you would taste. Do not consme the foods that are suspicious to see from the hygiene and its ingredients.

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From so many myths above, which one you have heard most oftenly? Or, maybe there is another myth that haven’t been mentioned above? Feel free to share, won’t you!